Quotes About Parenting

Given the news we all read or hear about, it's actually made me a stronger parent - I'm not a 'helicopter parent,' but I am very aware of local and world events and want to teach them what's right and wrong.

I raised two sons, and I know that even though they're bigger and stronger than I am, they're still little boys inside. They still cry, they still hurt. So whenever I write a male character, no matter how 'heroic' he may be, I think of my sons. And I remember that every man was once a little boy.

Children never say that their father is the smartest; instead they boast that he's the strongest.

I really believe strongly that kids should be spared the runoff of their parents' lives and problems.

But I really feel strongly that our kids do way too much homework. The research is on my side. It's easy to make a fuss when you're right. That can be the tagline of my life: 'It's Easy To Make A Fuss When You're Right.'

I am very strongly paternal. My paternal instincts need to be acted upon. My love needs a release. I love everyone. I don't express my love enough, but the love within me needs a platform as a parent.

My family is not only not religious, but my parents are both - they're secularists. My father is actually an atheist and feels very strongly about it.

Having children, entering the realm of parents and parenthood, changes our relationship to the world in ways we could not have anticipated and might not have signed up for. Before I had children, for example, I believed strongly in the nobility of suffering.

The thing that always struck me about 'Jonny Quest' is: What kind of parent brings his kid to the Amazon so that yetis can throw boulders at him?

Thing is, I went to a born-again Christian high school, was brought up in a traditional Mormon family where these ideas about parenting are of structure and sacrifice. To think outside of that idea of family and parenting that I've grown up with is tough but also very freeing.

Our structure has always been two homes, and that's all my son has ever known. So you balance it. Make sure you have good support with your family and friends and nannies.

As much as you don't like disciplining your kids, you have to sometimes. Kids want that structure, that leadership, that guidance. I think that's what I try to give my children.

The challenge for me as a parent of two girls is to establish enough structure in the house so that things don't go haywire... but at the same time, as a dominant male figure in their life, let them know they can topple the king.

Whether were parents, carers, teachers or anyone working with young children, we know that children move easily and often between free play and structured play. One is not better or worse than another, they each offer different experiences, different ways of thinking, and different kinds of learning.

Quite a lot of British women stop working when they have children, and that is rarely the case in Denmark. We have a very flat, structured way of approaching everything. Nobody's the boss. In a sense, we're all equal.

I'd say we are traditionalist. We are heavy on discipline and relatively strict and structured. But we also make sure our children feel not just physically safe but emotionally safe, like they can come to us with anything.

Speaking as a parent, I don't think parents think all the time about structures. I know from conversations I've had with other mums, I'll ask: 'Is your child's school an academy or a local authority school?' - and they'll look at me blankly.

If I didn't have children I might be more of a lush than I am. I like booze. I struggle with smoking. And I'm a big swearer. I'm trying to rein it in but I do think it's a nice seasoning of language.

I know plenty of Hollywood kids who still struggle with being whole. Their lives are never fully their own - always in the grip of a parent who put celebrity ahead of them.

I had four children, we all had to struggle to get up and get educated, and they all did their part, and we all did the best we could, and that's what a family and a parent is supposed to do.

When I became a mum myself, I really struggled to find great kids' clothes. Everything was either gorgeous but impossible to actually get open to change a nappy and expensive or poor quality.

I think it's really important as a parent to be present, and I really, really worked hard because my dad struggled with that. And it really bothered me as a kid that I would want to share something with him, and he didn't hear me.

My mom had struggles. My dad had struggles. He raised me as a single parent. I rebelled and almost quit amateur boxing, but my faith in God had a lot to do with me slowly getting my life together.

I don't want to bring them up as spoilt, pampered kids. We don't want them to take our status for granted. They will have their own struggles.